


Podsa Ship Manifesto

by NRGmeta (NRGburst)



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Animated GIFs, Essays, F/M, Meta, Nonfiction, Ship Manifesto, recs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:16:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22972384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NRGburst/pseuds/NRGmeta
Summary: Originally posted on Tumblr, archiving for March Meta Matters challenge 2020.
Relationships: Podrick Payne/Sansa Stark
Comments: 12
Kudos: 13
Collections: March Meta Matters Challenge





	Podsa Ship Manifesto

I know, I know, there's like three of us that ship this and I'm probably gonna get anon haters in my askbox for the trouble, but here's my reasoning for thinking they could still be endgame post-canon, and it's not just because they're both still alive! (Which is totally reason enough, but I have like, actual reasons beyond NOW KISS.) This meta is based on Game of Thrones the TV show, not the A Song of Ice and Fire books. The canons have diverged pretty starkly (hehe) and both characters are much younger in the books as well, so while I know there is also supportive evidence in the books, I'm not mentioning it on purpose, though feel free to add your own addendum with book evidence! GIFs were all made by me unless referenced.

I like that both Sansa and Podrick started out as Bad Minor Players: Pod's a bumbling squire sent to KL in disgrace; Sansa is a spoiled nobleman's daughter caught in a trap of her own making. And yet they both were able to get to their Ultimate Goal by series end. Character parallels abound; they're both Romantic Idealists who have to learn to be pragmatic and endure abuse and disrespect throughout their arcs, only flourishing once they learn to both play within and outside The Rules. Their trajectories crossed a number of times and while I know D&D threw in as many red herrings as actual foreshadowing details, _this_ was their Meet Cute in 3x08:

  


Tyrion is supposedly talking about himself, but do you _see_ who else is framed in that doorway, literally entering her life?! Combine this with how intensely Sansa grows to regret this particular statement from 1x06:

  


and what kind of person Podrick shows himself to be, and I'd argue that seeds for this ship were subtly planted waaay back when.

After Joffrey's murder, they're both hustled out of King's Landing, and they don't share screentime again until 5x02, although they don't actually meet or speak in the scene. However, Pod recognizes her voice from across a tavern and sees right through her disguise of dyed hair, identifying her from behind via a single phrase and her face turned in profile once.

  


I'm sorry, but that kind of instant magnetic knowing is Romance Tropey AF and I'll be forever disappointed at fandom for not going off about it. Siiigh.

They don't meet again until Sansa finally escapes the Boltons in 6x01. And when Brienne offers her sword and service again (and by extension, Pod's), this time Sansa accepts. She starts off her vows correctly, but she's been ripped from the life of knights and ladies for so long that she falters partway through. Podrick's gentle assist to jog her memory, right after winning a swordfight to protect her clinched it for me: _he_ was her brave, gentle and strong man. (That scene was such a huge highpoint in all of their arcs, actually. *sobs* THIS SHOW WAS SO FREAKING GOOD.) 

  


And he continues to serve her right up to the end of the series, when it's shown that he's become Bran's Kingsguard, which opens up so many delightful possibilities at last. Like I love this cleverly edited GIFset from 8x04, but since Theon had just died and Pod was still in her service, nothing could have happened?

  


[Originally posted by nooowestayandgetcaught](http://tmblr.co/ZkPApx2i11Ry7)

Politically, theydon't seem to be a good match, but only on the surface. Podrick is a distant cousin to Ser Ilyn Payne, who was responsible for executing Sansa’s father. House Payne is also a vassal house to House Lannister, and he comes from a lower branch of it. However, Pod helped Brienne rescue Sansa from the Boltons, trained soldiers and fought for the North in the Battle For the Dawn. He earned his knighthood with his own merit, and he continues to serve her brother. He is still an unlanded knight (and there's this pesky vow not to marry or father children that may still exist) but Sansa's no longer waaaay out of his league now that he has a title and battle experience. And actually, the fact that he's an unlanded knight is actually a good thing. (More on that later.)

As for why Sansa might find Pod an attractive prospective for her consort beyond the fact that he's you know, _attractive_ and rumored to be fantastic in bed (and I think she would consider how to get herself a Stark heir very pragmatically now): he's still one of the people she trusts absolutely, who was there for here at every stage of her journey, even the _worst_ bits, and he was loyal and supportive throughout. He's of noble blood and well-educated, but he has no power base, so no army will swoop in and claim her throne/lands by deposing her in favour of their child. (She's seen this happen too many times now; she is NOT going to let it happen to her.) He has no political ambitions and his defining character trait is loyalty- he's always just wanted to be a knight, and to serve somebody worthy. And yet he's not just some grunt in armor either- he's well versed in the politics of “which House married which and who hated who,” he speaks up when he doesn't think something is right, and they actually have similar interests: they both like to sing.

  


All in all, I think they'd make a sweet couple post canon. I also think there's a kind of delicious irony in Tyrion's former squire ending up with the child bride he didn't want. 

**Fic recs:**

The first time I actually saw Podsa in the wild was in scrubclub's amaaazeballs Gendrya HP AU fic [love, war and a few things in between](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20050930) (M, 52884 words). Pod and Sansa aren't just in the background here, they have a sweet, slow burn relationship in this and if you don't scream when they finally kiss, you probably aren't human.

I've already recced my own fic, [The Watcher](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19885414), which is a Podsa pre-ship fic. (It’s more of a Sansa deals with her trauma fic, and there's explicit Gendrya sex in it, but it's not actually a shippy Gendrya fic. E, 6833 words)

[i loved a maid as white as winter](https://archiveofourown.org/works/424367) by bryndentully (G, 773 words)is a sweet young Pod/young Sansa fic, showing their romantic idealist nature perfectly.

I'm still trawling the archive (the pain of shipping a rarepair means they get tagged in lots of fics that they are barely mentioned in) but I will add to this post as I find more fics I love! Or if somebody else could do a rec list, that would be wonderful!

**Author's Note:**

> Original post is on tumblr [here](https://nrgburst.tumblr.com/post/190894864345/podsa-ship-manifesto).


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